


A Slice of Strawberry Shortcake

by tinybox



Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [6]
Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Crushes, Deja Vu, False Memories, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22634284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: It's day three of the Literature Club.Manga is shared, and Monika moves things without asking first.Also, apparently Kaito is a pervert now.
Series: unreality_strikes_back.exe [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619047
Kudos: 4





	A Slice of Strawberry Shortcake

***Load**

"Kaito, do you have any of those fruit bars?" Sayori asks. 

"Maybe..." I check my bag, but all I can find are some empty wrappers. "No, looks like you ate them all. Sorry."

Instead of getting upset, Sayori noticeably perks up. "Well, seeing as you don't have any fruit bars...you must be hungry, too! Want to come with me and buy a snack?"

I shake my head. "Nope."

Sayori startles, clearly taken aback. "Eh?? T-that's not like you at all!!!"

I let out a deep sigh. "Sayori, I have my reasons. First of all, I'm not hungry. Second...well, why don't you show me your purse, Sayori?"

"Eh? Why that...all of a sudden?" Sayori whimpers, eyes wide. She's playing innocent, but I've been her friend for too long for me to fall for her tricks.

"No reason," I say in my most casual tone ever, "I just wanted to take a look at it."

Sweat beading on her forehead, Sayori nervously retrieves her coin purse. After fumbling with the latch for a moment, she turns the bag upside-down, letting the contents spill out onto the desk. Just as I suspected, only two coins fall out.

"A-hahaha..." Sayori giggles nervously. 

I roll my eyes. "Sayori, you know I can see right through you."

"That's not fair!" Sayori says with a pout. "How did you even know?"

"It's simple. If you had enough money to buy a snack in the first place, you would have done so before coming the the club. So, either you're not hungry and wanted an excuse to take a walk...or you planned to conveniently forget that you spent all your money, so that I would lend you some!"

"M-maybe I just wanted to take a walk?"

"Sayori, you literally asked me for one of my fruit bars just a minute ago. Besides, even if you didn't ask for a fruit bar, you're always hungry!"

"Uwa!" Sayori wails. "I give up! Don't make me feel guiltyyy!"

"Sayori, if you feel guilty, that means you deserve to feel guilty."

Yuri, nose buried deeply in a book, suddenly giggles.

I hadn't known she'd been listening in...

"Ah!" Yuri gasps, face flushing, "I wasn't listening or anything-! It was just...something in my book..."

"Yuuuri, tell Kaito to let me borrow some money..." Sayori pleads.

"That's- don't get me involved like that, Sayori..." Yuri pauses, before saying in a much more firm voice, "Besides, you should only buy what you can responsibly afford...and frankly, after trying to pull a stunt like that...your suffering is a fair enough retribution."

Sayori giggles a little, and Yuri flushes bright red.

"Did I...Ah! I didn't mean that! I got too absorbed in my book..."

"That's okay, Yuri!" Sayori cheerfully responds. "I really like it when you speak your mind! It doesn't happen much, but it's a fun side of you!"

"That's..." Yuri begins, "there's no way you could think that..."

"You were right, though," Sayori admits. "I did something bad, and now I have to accept the revolution."

"Retribution," Yuri gently corrects.

"That!"

"Still," Yuri continues, "coming from you, Sayori...I guess there's all a little devil inside all of us, isn't there?"

"Ehehehe.." Sayori giggles innocently. 

"Don't let her fool you," I warn Yuri. "She's always a step ahead of everyone. After all, she told you guys she was bringing me to the club before she even told me..."

"B-but...!" Sayori weakly protests, "You wouldn't have come if it weren't for the cupcakes...so I had to trick Natsuki into making them!"

I roll my eyes. "See, Yuri? You can't trust her one bit."

"Ehehe..." Sayori giggles.

_Pwap!_

Out of nowhere, something bounces off Sayori's forehead onto the desk in front of her.

"Kyaa-!" Sayori yelps in surprise and pain. "Ow..." she says pitifully, rubbing her forehead, "what was-!"

Sayori suddenly gasps in surprise, staring down at the thrown object.

"Woah! A-a cookie!" Sayori breathes, picking it up reverently.

Sure enough, it's a giant cookie wrapped in plastic. Sayori glances around, then up at the ceiling. "I-is this a miracle?? Have I paid my restitution?"

"Retribution..." I correct.

Yuri shrugs. "Actually, that one almost worked..."

"Ahahaha!" Natsuki laughs. She's standing in the doorway, eyes twinkling with mischief. "I _was_ just gonna give it to you," she says, gesturing to Sayori, "but then I heard you blab about the cupcakes. It was totally worth your reaction, though!"

"N-Natsuki!" Sayori gasps, "That's so nice of you!"

"You have a good throwing arm, too," I comment. "Excellent aim as well."

Sayori hugs the cookie to her chest. "I'm so happy..."

Natsuki looks pleased, as well as slightly embarrassed. "Jeez," she scoffs, "just eat the thing..."

Sayori rapidly tears open the wrapper and takes a big bite. "Sho good...Mmph!" Crumbs fly everywhere as Sayori suddenly clasps her hands to her mouth. Quickly swallowing, Sayori whimpers, "I bit my tongue..."

"Ehehe.." Natsuki giggles, pulling out a cookie of her own and taking a bite. "You're going through a lot for just one cookie."

Sayori perks up. "Ah, your cookie looks really good too, Natsuki! Can I try it?"

"Jeez..." Natsuki scoffs, "beggars can't be choosers!"

"But yours is chocolate..."

"Yeah, why do you think I gave you that one?"

"Fine..." Sayori takes another big bite of her cookie. "Still," she continues, getting out of her seat, "I'm really happy that you shared this one with me..."

Now that she's behind Natsuki, Sayori wraps her arms around the other girl. Natsuki squirms in her arms, flushing beetroot red. "Sheesh," Natsuki mutters, "I get it, I get it." Cookie still in hand, Natsuki reaches up to nudge Sayori off of her.

With that, Sayori strikes. Leaning down, she takes a bite out of Natsuki's cookie. _"...Om."_

"H-hey!" Natsuki yelps. "Did you seriously just do that?!"

Mouth full, Sayori trots away to safety.

Yuri and I laugh as well.

"Looks like Sayori the Food Thief strikes again," I comment. "You can never be too careful around her. Lock up your cookies, cupcakes, and candy bars, because she's coming for them all!"

"Jeez!" Natsuki huffs, "You're such a kid sometimes! Monika, can you tell Sayori-"

Stopping short, Natsuki glances around the room. I look around as well, and realize something I should have already noticed- Monika is not here. 

"Ugh..." Natsuki groans, hands on her hips, "where's Monika, anyway?"

"Good question," Yuri says, looking a little concerned. "Have any of you heard about her being late today?"

Sayori shakes her head. "Not me..."

"Yeah, I haven't either," I tell them. 

Yuri hums thoughtfully to herself. "Hm...that's a bit unusual."

"I hope she's okay," Sayori whimpers.

Natsuki scoffs. "Of course she's okay. She probably just had something else to do today. She's pretty popular, after all..."

Sayori startles. "Eh? You don't think she...she has a...!"

Though she doesn't finish her sentence, everyone knows what she's trying to say.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Yuri says with a wistful smile. "She's probably more desirable than all of us combined."

Sayori giggles to herself. "Ehehe...that's true."

Natsuki scowls. "Excuse me???"

"Don't worry, Natsuki," I say with a grin, "if you take me out of the equation, the desirability points of your group go up."

The shorter girl rolls her eyes. "Gross."

Suddenly, the door swings open. "Sorry," Monika hurriedly says, "I'm super sorry!"

"It's cool," I tell her.

"I didn't mean to be late..." Monika says apologetically, "I hope you guys weren't worried or anything!"

Sayori bounces up and down in excitement. "Eh??? Monika chose the club over her boyfriend after all! You're so strong-willed!"

"B-boyfriend...?" Monika stammers, clearly at a loss for words. "What on Earth are you talking about?" When she glances over to me, I just shrug. 

"So, um...what held you up, anyway?" I ask.

"Ah..." Monika begins. "Well...my last period today was study hall. To be honest, I kind of just lost track of time..."

"That makes no sense, though," Natsuki argues, "you would have heard the bell ring, at least."

"I must have not heard it, since I was practicing piano..."

"Piano...?" Yuri asks. "I wasn't aware you played a musical instrument as well, Monika."

Monika laughs a little. "Ah, I don't, really...! I kind of just started recently. I've always wanted to learn piano."

"That's so cool!" Sayori praises. "Hey, remember when you had those clarinet lessons, Kaito?"

I groan. "Don't remind me."

Turning to Monika, Sayori says, "You should play for us one day, Monika!"

"Maybe once I get better, I will."

"Yay!"

"That sounds pretty cool," I tell Monika. "I'd also look forward to it."

"Is that so...?" Monika begins, looking straight at me. "In that case...I won't let you down, Kaito."

She smiles sweetly at me.

"Ah...I didn't mean to pressure you or anything."

Monika giggles. "Ahaha...don't worry. I've been practicing a whole lot recently. And I'd really love the chance to share once I'm ready."

"I see...well, in that case, best of luck."

"Thanks! So, I didn't miss anything, did I?"

I shrug. "No, not really."

Everyone begins to settle down a little. 

Not surprisingly, Sayori has already finished her entire cookie; Yuri's nose is buried in her book once more. 

I head over to Natsuki.

"Hey, Natsuki!"

Natsuki eyes me critically. "You brought back the book, right?"

"Of course I did."

Reaching into my book bag, I pull out the manga Natsuki had let me borrow the day before. "It was great reading it over again. Thank's for letting me borrow it!"

Natuski grins. "That's the kind of generous person I am! I'll let you keep borrowing my books...as long as you keep them safe!"

We make our way to the closet. As Natsuki opens the door, she asks, "Where did this volume end again? I forgot."

"Ah, the chapter ended when Minori and Sakura found-"

"Monika!!" Natsuki shrieks, voice resonating out from inside the closet. I quickly look inside, and immediately see what Natsuki's so upset about- all of her books are now lined up on the top shelf, completely out of anyone's reach. "Did you move my manga?!"

"Sorry, Natsuki!" Monika calls from across the room. "The teacher got mad at me for taking so much space in her closet...so I had to move some stuff around and clean up a little. It's still there, I just had to organize it a bit!"

Natsuki's hands are clenched into tight fists. Scowling, she makes a brief attempt to hop up and reach the manga. 

"Jeez...! This is so inconvenient! I'm putting these all back down. There's plenty of room on these shelves. And besides," she huffs, "they're really pretty to look at when they're all lined up! Why would you waste that on the top shelf?"

I glance around the closet; hanging up on the wall is a collapsible stool. "Hey, there's a stool on the wall over there. If I stand on it, I'll probably be tall enough to-"

"I'm doing it!" Natsuki interrupts, grabbing the stool off the wall. Unfolding it, she complains, "You think I'm too short or something?"

"I just mean-"

"I _knew_ it! Well, you know what? Just watch me!" With those words, Natsuki hops up onto the stool, which ends up to be a little wobbly because of its collapsible design.

"Aaah..." Natsuki mutters under her breath as she steadies herself. I nervously eye the stool, which looks like it might collapse at any moment. 

"Natsuki, you're making me anxious."

"I know what I'm doing!"

Even with the stool, Natsuki is only tall enough for her fingertips to touch the top shelf. I probably could reach the books if Natsuki let me stand on the stool...but I doubt she'll listen. 

"Hmm..." Natsuki mutters, using her fingers to scoot one of the smaller boxes to the edge of the shelf. "See?" Natsuki begins, "I told you I could-"

The box suddenly tips. "Kyah-!" Natsuki shouts, barely managing to catch it. As she does, the stool wobbles violently under her feet. "Wawaa-"

Losing balance, Natsuki hops off the stool. To my utter relief, she lands on her feet. 

"Whew," I breathe. 

Natsuki holds up the box triumphantly. "There!"

Despite her bravado, she sounds shaken up. 

"Natsuki...please let me do the next one," I beg. "You almost gave me a heart attack! Look, there's no need to prove yourself-"

"I said I can do it!" Natsuki snaps. "I don't want your help, okay? I just need to get a chair." 

Natsuki forces her way past me and out of the closet; I fold the stool back up and put it on the wall. The chairs in the classroom are all attached to desks, so they're pretty inconvenient to move. Maybe I should go help her?

I poke my head out of the closet. 

...She's by the teacher's desk, pushing out a computer chair.

Rolling it back into the closet, she smirks at me. "Got it!"

I literally can't think of anything to say at this point- this chair _swivels_ and _rolls_ , and yet Natsuki thinks she can safely stand on that thing?!

_...Oh god, she's going to break her neck right in front of me._

Natsuki climbs onto the chair, then slowly balances on her feet.

All I can do is watch in horror. 

"Aha!" Natsuki crows, "There we go! See? I can easily do it now."

Grabbing a box of manga, she bends down to put it on the shelf below. 

The chair swivels, but Natsuki manages to catch herself on the shelf.

"W-Wahh-What are you doing? Can you at least hold the chair steady instead of standing there and doing nothing?"

I snap out of my daze, quickly grabbing the chair as tightly as I can. 

_Oh god, if she dies now it'll be my fault._

Natsuki wraps her arms around the Parfait Girls box set, easily one of the largest one on the shelf.

"Hup-" Natsuki grunts underneath the weight. "Hey, Kaito...I don't think I can bend down without falling...! Hurry and take this one..."

"But then I have to let go of the chair," I protest. "Natsuki, just drop the box."

"No way! Just let go for a second! Hurry up...!"

"Alright...let me just stand up!"

I slowly release my tight grip from the chair.

"What do you mean, 'stand up'?" Natsuki says, clearly puzzled. She looks down at me. "Why are you all the way back-"

Suddenly, a strange expression crosses Natsuki's face, kind of like she just noticed something.

"What are you looking at?!"Natsuki shrieks, her face turning bright red. "You're trying to look at my...m-my.."

"Natsuki! The box!"

Her legs shake.

"Natsuki! I am literally trying to keep you alive!"

But she doesn't seem to be listening to me at all. "Y-you perv! You set me up!! Go away! Get out!"

"Natsuki! The chair-!"

"Go away! I don't need your help! Get out!"

_WHERE IS EVERYONE? MONIKA? YURI? SAYORI??? HOW CAN THEY NOT HEAR WHAT'S GOING ON?!_

"I'll do it myself!"

Then-

_the chair suddenly flies from underneath her feet._

" _Kyyyyaaaa!_ "

In a split second, everything turns to chaos.

Frantically, I try and catch her.

_**CRASH!** _

The full force of Natsuki's body against mine throws me to the ground; a bunch of falling books pelt me in the face. 

Everything hurts, especially my right arm and back. I haven't broken anything (I know firsthand what it feels like to break a bone) but I know I'm going to be covered in bruises and bumps.

_Ow...._

Natsuki's lying on top of me, her face against my chest. She groans, pressing her arms against my chest to prop herself up. 

"Eh?"

A strange expression crosses Natsuki face. "G-Guuuu!!! Gross! Gross!"

Her fist pounds into my chest. "Gack!" I croak.

Natsuki then hoists herself to her feet. "What were you thinking?! You sicko!"

Before I can say or do anything, I hear Monika call out, "Everything going okay over there...? I heard a loud noise..."

Although I'm still lying on the ground, I can see Monika poke her head in. She looks concerned, but also faintly amused.

I push myself off the ground until I'm standing like a normal person.

Natsuki's scowl grows ever deeper. "See what happens when you put manga on the top shelf?! Are you trying to kill your club members of something? Jeez!"

Monika flushes, looking away for a moment in embarrassment. "S-sorry, sorry!" she apologizes, letting out a nervous giggle. "Ahaha..."

Natsuki huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, and one more thing," Natsuki snarks, "it seems like your most recent club member is a total pervert. So I hope you're happy."

I feel like my face is on fire. "I-I didn't!"

I want to explain everything, but the words seem stuck in my throat. How would I even be able to describe what just happened, anyway? All I can splutter out is, "I didn't do anything, I swear...!"

_Oh god that sounds super shady_

To my relief, Monika doesn't look like she believes Sayori's accusations. My theory is confirmed when she whispers into my ear, "I know, I know, don't worry." And with those parting words, the class president leaves.

Looks like I'm off the hook, at least with Monika...

Suddenly, I hear Natsuki whimper, "Oh no...! My...my..." 

I look down and see that Natsuki's kneeling on the floor, holding one of the books that are scattered all over. There's a large diagonal crease along the page that she's desperately trying to smooth out.

"Ah, it must have landed on the page..."

Natsuki tries a bit more to fix the crease, but she can't get it out. Suddenly, she gives up and slams the book shut, then throws it to the floor. Instead of continuing to shout, she lowers her head. 

_*Sob*_

"...Natsuki, are you-"

Natsuki's voice squeaks when she lets out a muffled shout. "No!"

...I can see tears on her face.

"Don't worry, the crease can be fixed. My grandma used to preserve books, and I think she used pressure to-"

Natsuki shakes her head, still looking down. "No...I don't even care that much. I'm just...having a really bad day today." She lets out a deep sob, whispering, "I didn't mean to take it out on you...I really didn't mean to!"

"It's...it's fine. Is there anything you want to talk about?" I gently probe, quickly adding, "You don't have to share anything if you don't want to."

Natsuki shakes her head. "Just...every day...is...so hard. I just want to...come to the club and..." Once again, she falls silent. I don't want to press her for details, but I can't just stand here like an idiot, either. 

"Wait, I almost forgot! I brought something that I thought would go well here."

I rush out of the closet, making a beeline for my book bag. When I return, Natsuki's now looking up, and I can see tear tracks on her face. "I was cleaning out my closet, and I found...this!"

Getting down on the ground, I hand Natsuki the manga.

She looks unimpressed, and I don't blame her for judging me. After all, for all intents and purposes, this seems like just another copy of issue #42 from _Parfait Girls_. 

Natsuki opens the book, and gasps.

Usually, the back of the cover is blank. This version, however, is covered in signatures. 

"Are these for real?!"

"I had the book checked, it's legit."

All of the signatures belong to a people who, at some point, worked on the manga. 

"Where did you find these?!" Natsuki demands, eyes shining.

I chuckle. "Secondhand bookstore. They were selling it for less than a dollar. Can you even believe it?"

Natsuki rolls her eyes. "Some people are just so stupid."

She sounds a bit better than she did a few minutes ago. 

"I hid it in my closet so my dad wouldn't find it," I tell Natsuki. "But I guess I was too good at hiding it, because I only just found it. Anyway, I thought it might fit in here with the others..."

Natsuki flips through the pages with a small smile. "Yeah, I think there's some enough space in here. And if there isn't, I'll _make_ some space!"

"Here, I'll help you clean up all the manga," I offer. "Then...we could read the next issue together? I bet that'll cheer you up even more."

Natsuki's lip quivers. "You're...you're really nice to me..."

"Eh?"

_I didn't expect to hear that from Natsuki..._

"Don't worry about it. I'm just treating you like a friend, you know? Not that my opinion matters much, but I think you're pretty cool."

Natsuki lowers her head and stifles another sob. 

The next couple of minutes are quiet as I begin gathering the scattered books, making sure to slip them into their box in the correct order. 

After a little bit, Natsuki starts helping.

It isn't long before we're done, and I hoist the box onto the shelf where Natsuki wanted to put it. After that, I get on the stool and quickly finish moving the rest of her books from the top shelf.

"Alright, that should do it!" I comment, getting down from the stool. 

Natsuki adverts her gaze. "T-thanks," she mumbles. 

"No problem. Anyway, I'm ready to read!"

Natsuki smirks. "Good. Even if you weren't, I'd make you anyway. You're taking responsibility for what you said, by the way. You know...the thing about cheering me up."

I wink at Natsuki. "If you insist!"

She giggles a little, and I can feel my chest slowly filling up with warmth. 

***Save**


End file.
